Don't Stop Believing
by SPEEEEEEEAK
Summary: A song-fic to Don't Stop Believing about April and Roger, how they first met all the way through when they figured out that they had HIV. Roger/April. NO DEATH! Rated for swearing and drugs.


**A/N: Originally, this story was for Mimi and Roger, and then I realized that it made so much more sense as an April and Roger fic. Which excites me because I love April's character, but I've never written anything about or involving her. This story is about how they meet and fall in love and such. Song-fic to Journey's **_**Don't Stop Believing. **_**Or the version from Glee…either way it's an amazing song! Enjoy! P.S. I own nothing! Although I wish I did…**

_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world_

April walked down the street, tired of everything in her life. She had been born and raised in the suburbs, had never been out of her town. She longed for adventure, excitement, _anything_, as long as it wasn't the same cookie-cutter houses, row after row.

As she walked in the front door, her mother and father's raised voices immediately caught her attention. She tried to get up the stairs without them noticing, but to no avail. "April!" her father called. She stopped and turned around, tensing for what was coming.

She wasn't disappointed. As he slapped her across the side of her face, her head began ringing. "Where the hell have you been?" he yelled. "I was at school, Dad, remember?" April replied, her sarcastic tone hiding her tears. "It's where teenagers go every day of the fucking week."

He glared at her for a minute, and she began to think that he would leave her alone, go back to his drunken stupor, the one he continuously seemed to be in. No such luck. "Get out," he spat. April stood halfway up the stairs, stunned by his words. "GET OUT!" her father roared, raising his fist to strike her again.

April fled up the stairs to her room, grabbed a bag into which she shoved a few pairs of clothes and a hundred dollars, and raced out of the house. She ran, ran, ran, her duffel banging hard against her side. As the distance between her and her house grew, she slowed down.

Where could she go?

_  
She took the midnight __train__ goin' anywhere_

It was dusk by the time she finally stopped walking and plopped down on a bench in front of a train station. She had walked entirely out of her town and into the next one. After catching her breath, April realized that she could get on the subway and get out of her town. Excited by this thought, she looked at the map of the subway line, trying to figure out where to go.

She was only 17; she couldn't do much of anything yet, especially being underage and uneducated. But she was determined to never go back, to never _look_ back. She would be strong and her own person and make something of herself. With a quick glance at the clock, she made a split-second decision.

She hopped over the turnstile and into the tunnels leading to the subway platform. A few moments later, the subway arrived and with a "WOOSH" of air, stopped and opened its doors. April stepped on the train, and settled down for a long ride. As the platform slowly disappeared behind her, April closed her eyes and a faint smile came to her face.

She was going to New York.

_  
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit_

Roger groaned as he hung up the phone. His band's gig for that night had been cancelled, and now he had to break it to the guys. This meant no more money until their next gig. If only that agent from Chicago would get back to them, then they might actually be able to play a professional gig.

Ever since he had graduated last spring, Roger had put all he had into his band, and he wanted it to actually get somewhere. With a resigned sigh, he walked into the other room of his apartment to tell the others about the cancelled show.

Just as he opened his mouth, the telephone rang again. He raced back to it, picking it up with a breathless, "Hello?" As he listened to the speaker on the other end of the line, his face grew brighter and brighter. He hung up and turned to face the others.

"Well? What is it?" James, the drummer, asked. "The gig for tonight was cancelled," Roger said, almost happily. "Then why are you smiling?" the bassist, Lee, demanded. Roger's smile lit up the room.

"How do you guys feel about going to New York to record a demo record instead?"

_  
He took the midnight train goin anywhere_

Roger and his band stood on the station platform, waiting impatiently for their train to come. With them they had small bags with the necessities and all of their instruments, which they were guarding with their lives, less some hobo come and try to steal them.

Like a hobo would know what to do with a Fender.

A loud screech announced the arrival of the train, and The Well Hungarians boarded it excitedly. As the train traveled farther and farther away from home and close to the city, most of the band fell asleep.

Roger, however, stayed awake, scribbling new song lyrics into a battered old notebook. He couldn't wait to get into the city – record the demo, see the sights, go to a club or two, maybe even meet some hot girls.

As day broke over the city skyline, the train pulled up into Grand Central Station, and the band got off. Welcome to New York City…center of the universe. __

A singer in a smokey room

The demo record had been recorded, it had gone fabulously, and now Roger's manager had set them up with a gig at CBGB's. Roger was dead tired, but he figured that he would do the show. For the cash, for the chance to make himself known in New York, who knows. But he would be glad that he had agreed to it.

April sat at a table in CBGB's watching the band that had just finished turn the stage over to a trio of guys who called themselves The Well Hungarians. What kind of name was that? All snarky thoughts went out of her mind the second the lead singer opened his mouth. The lyrics that he sang were raw and emotional, and they touched April. She felt a desire to meet the singer, and as soon as their set was over she walked up, introduced herself, and offered to buy the singer, Roger, a drink.

_  
A smell of wine and cheap perfume_

Roger sat at a table in the back of the club, sipping the dark beverage in front of him. This girl, April, seemed so _fresh_, so vibrant and real. She seemed capable of normal human interaction; they were currently in a serious discussion about the lyrics of the first song they had performed. This was so unusual for him, a beautiful girl who really seemed to get him and treated him like a normal human being.

_  
For a smile they can share the night_

Roger grinned as April told of how she came to be in New York, how she was going to try and go to school, if she could scrape together enough money. How to get that money she was going to be a bartender at CBGB's. She was so exotic, beautiful, amazing, so right for him. They could just sit there and talk, be themselves, and never get bored.

The rest of his band had long ago disappeared, but Roger wasn't too concerned. How could he be, when he was in the presence of this goddess? She made him feel…what was the word?

Complete.

_  
It goes on and on and on and on_

April pulled on her jean jacket, and stepped outside into the cool night air. She was still flushed pink from booze and Roger, the sweet musician made her feel like she was loved, wanted.

She smiled at the paper in her hand, the paper on which Roger had written his phone number, telling her to call him soon. She planned on it.__

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard  
Their shadows searching in the night  
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion  
Hiding, somewhere in the night

Roger woke the next morning feeling the happiest he had ever felt in his short life. That girl, he hadn't even kissed her, and he was sure he was in love. This was the best feeling in the world!

A bubbly, giddy feeling was in his stomach, it made him want to see her again as soon as possible. He had never felt like this before. He felt as though she understood him, _really_ understood him. Who he was, what he stood for, everything. No secrets. No shadows. No lies.

As a person.

**-Three months later-**__

Working hard to get my fill,  
Everybody wants a thrill

Roger came in the door of his new home, the apartment that he shared with April, and flopped down on the couch. Why did his band's manager have to be so…annoying? He couldn't seem to do anything right, he had recently lost three jobs for them! Roger was just starting to fall asleep when the door banged open. April flounced in, near tears, and stared down at Roger, her eyes cold.

"When were you planning on telling me?" she demanded.

"Huh?" was Roger's dignified reply.

"When were you going to tell me that you are cheating on me?" April asked, her words daggers. Roger jumped off of the couch, his eyes wide in shock.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I would never cheat on you April! I love you!"

"Stop lying!" April said, tears streaming down her face. "I know that you're seeing Emma!"

"Who?" Roger demanded.

"EMMA!" April screamed. "The tall blonde who I work with at the club!"

"I've never seen her before in my life!" Roger retorted.

"That's a lie, and you know it."

Roger knew it was a lie too. He had seen the girl at the club when he went to pick up April, but he had never spoken to the woman before in his life.

"Leave," April whispered her voice barely audible.

"Excuse me?" Roger said.

"Leave. Get out. I don't want to see you again," April said coolly, staring icily at her boyfriend. At the man she thought she loved.

Roger swallowed hard, and then turning, walked out.

_  
Payin' anything to roll the dice,  
Just one more time_

"Oh come on April! Baby please," Roger pleaded clutching the clunky black payphone receiver to his ear. It had only been a week since their fight, and Roger had been living with his band mates again. He missed April so much it felt like he was having a heart attack. She had finally answered the phone this time and he was praying that she would hear him out. And if she didn't…

_  
Some will win, some will lose  
Some were born to __sing the blues__  
Oh, the __movie__ never ends  
It goes on and on and on and on_

April stood, her arms crossed, waiting for Roger to speak the first word. They had met on the corner between their apartment and Thompson Square Park, and so far there was a tense air between the two.

"Baby, you know that I would never cheat on you," Roger said, his hands shoved deep inside his jeans pockets. "I know that you've had a rough life, where people don't care about you and would do something like this to you, but you have to understand that I'm not like that. I love you April, and I will never let anyone or anything hurt you ever. I swear."

April was silent; she rocked back and forth slightly, chewing on her lower lip. Finally, she broke down and hugged Roger with all her might. "I believe you Roger, I'm so sorry that I blew up, I should have listened to you first. I wasn't thinking."

"It's alright baby girl," Roger said, smoothing her hair down. "It's all better now."

"I know something that will make it even better," April said, taking his hand and leading him down a nearby alley way.__

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard  
Their shadows searching in the night  


April sat on the back stoop of a building, Roger kneeling at her feet. A rubber tube was tied around her upper left arm, and she held a needle of heroin in her right fist. She slowly shot up and sighed in relief. Next, it was Roger's turn. This was only the second time that he'd done drugs, but it still made him loosen up right away as the drugs coursed through his bloodstream. He wasn't sure where April was getting the drugs or the needles, but he wasn't about to complain.

_  
Streetlight people, living just to find emotion  
Hiding, somewhere in the night_

Roger and April walked past the groups of people, old cripples, whom upon closer inspection were really teenagers, adults barely older then they were. They were infected. This disease that spread around, you could get it a number of ways, but it normally turned up deadly. AIDS.

"We need to get tested," Roger remarked. April looked at him confused. "We've been sharing needles, and you're not even sure where they come from half of the time. We should get tested just to be safe." April nodded and the two headed off to a clinic, thinking naïvely that they couldn't possibly be sick.

_  
Don't stop believin'  
Hold on to the feelin'_

_Streetlight people_

"Roger Davis and April Ericsson please." The woman at the clinic handed them each their respective envelopes, their names typed in an imposing black font on the front. They sat down on the hard orange plastic chairs, and as Roger slid his finger under the envelope flap, he felt scared for the first time. What if he had gotten it? What if he had gotten April infected? He had vowed to protect her, and now…but no…they would be fine.

A cry escaped April's lips as she stared at the paper clutched tightly in her hand.

Positive.

_Don't stop believin'_

_Hold on to the feelin'_

So they had AIDS. HIV really, but it was all the same thing in Roger's mind. He had failed April. She was sobbing, and silent tears were streaming down his face as they sat, frozen, in the waiting room, unable to leave, to face their futures, the world as it was now.

Eventually, they got up and holding hands, walked out of the office. It felt as though they were sealing their fate, as though they were doomed.

_Streetlight people_

Now in all of those people on the streets, Roger saw himself. Not himself as he was now, as he imagined he would be after the disease hit him.

But wait.

This didn't have to be the end. There was still hope. There was medicine, and it was always improving. As long as he took care of himself and April, they didn't do any more drugs and got adequate food, they would be fine. They could live full, normal, happy lives.

They just had to keep hoping.

_Don't stop!_

**A/N: I had a few ideas about how to kill April off in this, but I decided against it. She's had enough pain in her life to die in this story. This is the first song-fic I've ever written, so I'm not sure if I did it correctly or not…so let me know!! :)**


End file.
